VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova Wildcats are the No. 4 seed from the Red Division in the 2009 BIG EAST Tournament and will host Providence, the No. 5 seed from the Blue Division, in an opening round match this Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at the West Campus Soccer Complex, it was announced by the BIG EAST Conference. The winner of that contest will advance to the quarterfinals, to be played Saturday at either Notre Dame or Connecticut, pending the outcome of a makeup game between UConn and Marquette on Monday.

Villanova finished the BIG EAST schedule with a 5-5-1 record, 9-7-2 overall. This marks the first time it has hosted a BIG EAST Tournament contest since 2005, when it played Georgetown to a draw only to see the Hoyas advance on penalty kicks.

This will be Providence's second visit to the Main Line this season. On Sept. 20, Villanova rebounded from a 2-1 loss to Connecticut with a 1-0 victory over the Friars. Freshman Kyle Soroka scored the game's only goal in the fourth minute off a nice give and go play with classmate Emerson Lawrence. Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan made four saves, including two of the spectacular variety, to preserve the lead.

Providence ended Villanova's season in 2008 in the opening round in a match played on their home field. Senior Mike Seamon scored a second half goal to give the Wildcats a lead but the Friars responded with two late goals to advance to the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated at St. John's.

Villanova has advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament in five of the last six seasons. It has yet to post a victory in the tournament.

If Connecticut defeats Marquette on the makeup match, the Huskies would gain the No. 1 seed in the Blue Division and become the opponent for the winner of Wednesday's game at Villanova. However, if that match results in a draw or a Golden Eagle triumph, Notre Dame is the top seed on the Blue side. If Saturday's contest is at UConn, it is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. If the Fighting Irish are the host, it will be played at 11:00 a.m.

The semifinals and finals of the tournament will be held on Nov. 13-15 at West Virginia's Dick Delsk Stadium.